Reviews

Gameplay: Dive into the sea and collect oysters and bring them back to your boat. Avoid being killed by fish or running out of air.

I wanted to like this game but found it too fiddly. Has there ever been a computer game where swimming was good? In Mario 64 and Zelda: Ocarina Of Time it was the swimming levels and water temple that were the most awkward.

The best thing about Scuba Dive is the way the sharks turn around in the water.

Very nice game. Good graphics (specially the sharks), easy to get into and very fun. For me it's even better now in the emulators era, because is a very friendly game to give a go when you don't have much time to spare.

One of the most original Spectrum games ever. Very colourful and intriguing.

It was exciting to avoid the octopuses and finding obstreperous new aquatic species right underneath them.

Besides , this game has one thing that many others lack, that thing is called magic.

It is magic not being able to resist diving deeper and deeper until you find electric eels, giant squids, and all sorts of strange animals and a pletora of queer aquatic fauna.

Magic, pure magic !!


Ps - I totally disagree with Alessandro. This is, in fact, one of the most loved games ever made for the Zx Spectrum. Anyone who doesn´t love this game is totally missing the point about the 80´s black little wonder invented by Sir Clive Sinclair.

Utterly frustrating down to the point of being infuriating, this sort of pearl collecting simulator seems to be, to my amazement, highly regarded by the Spectrum users community. The most unfair aspect is in my opinion its flip-screen gameplay, which means you'll more than often bump into a nastie without being able to do anything to avoid it. The only redeeming features, which make me assign it a 2 instead of a 1, are most of the sea inhabitants' sprites, some are particularly well done and animated.

This is a game I would recommend to masochists and self-haters only.

1983 Durell Software (UK)
by Mike Richardson

Scuba Dive is one heck of a claustrophobic game. When you reach high depths and you see your level of oxygen lowering and you struggle to get back to your boat, you will understand what I mean. The game's atmosphere is priceless with excellently designed sea creatures.
For 1983 its high above average and a Spectrum icon for many of us.
I would rate it with a 5 if only the games objective was more than just collecting pearls and exploring the depths of the ocean.
A classic nonetheless.

Yes,it is fiddly and frustrating, and yes the animation and cool caves help build an atmosphere few Spectrum games can match. Play it for high scores and then this is truly revealed as a game with hidden depths.

Despite having no real objective besides exploring and collecting pearls, Scuba Dive is strangely compelling. It's also a very relaxing game as you swim amongst the fish and sharks slowly edging deeper into the depths of the ocean and towards unknown treasures. Well until you get killed anyway, at which point you'll find it difficult to resist the urge to dive straight back in.

A cute game with an original plot. Avoid the dangers under the sea trying to find pearls and returning to your boat. Take care of your level of oxygen and beware of the terrible caves. The movement and graphics of sharks are one of the best points of this game.

A simple and funny game that's as playable today as back then.

I have decided to write exactly the same for two games that I consider strongly related even though they are very different:

Scuba Dive and Match Point
An excellent example about "less is more"

At a time when the machine's limits were still being discovered, the quality was not overwhelming but more than enough for the intended gameplay.


Simplicity, absolute simplicity but with elegance.

a good lesson for many nowadays games, not only ZX related.

Did I talk about gameplay? Well that's what matters. Also high addiction.

No need to have stunning graphics.
Only the level for you to be able to identify the course of the action.

More than decent, time- tested and simulating very well.